'Enjoy your waffle, enjoy your life'....

As a student of Naomi Wolf, Noam Chomsky and Arundhati Roy, I have always struggled to equate rampant capitalism with human development.

When the slogan of my local waffle store tries to suggest that I shall enjoy my life to the degree that I enjoy their waffles, I am immediately turned away. Equally, I am confronted by the soaring glass fascades of of Bangkok's mofo shopping malls, by the waves of faux brands that spill over the streets, and by the colourful and kitsch heroes of MTV Asia. I can't seem to help that gut recognition of creeping Mcdonaldisation...

Bangkok is simultaneously the beating heart of staunch tradition and national pride and the up and coming playground of the world's fashion fabulous. This week saw the celebration of Constitution day, in a country with no standing Constitution courtesy of September's military coup. The hundreds of stalls that crowd the thoroughfares of an evening scream of the creative entreprenuerialism of the Thai's, while the university professors I chat to routinely insist the relevance of 'leadership' is a moot point in Asian societies.

It seems to me that Thai young people are caught somewhere confused in this dynamic of global/local/tradition/modernity, with desicions made for them by the older generations. The interim government recently raised the drinking age to 25, while a UNFPA report indicated at least 50% of those under this age has had 1+ sexual partner. Again, the Family unit remains the primary desicion-maker for young adults, keeping children firmly under the thumb until they form their own families.

And then something inside me says, "Who are you to judge, farang?"

And so, I keep exploring....